Yield on 10-year Italian bond lowest since 2006

Drop follows successful one-year BOT auction

(ANSA) - Rome, February 12 - The yield on the 10-year BTP
Italian State bond dropped to its lowest level in eight years on
Wednesday.
The yield on the 10-year bond fell to 3.67%, the
lowest since February 23, 2006.
The spread between the 10-year BTP and the German
equivalent, a key indicator of investor confidence and of
Italy's borrowing costs, came down to 197 basis points.

The spread went over 500 points with yields of above 7%,
levels considered unsustainable in the long term, when Italy
risked a Greek-style financial meltdown at the peak of the
eurozone debt crisis in 2011.

Wednesday's fall in the 10-year bond yield came after a
successful Treasury auction of one-year BOT bonds.

The Treasury sold eight billion euros' worth of BOTs at an
average interest rate of 0.676%, an all-time low and down from
0.735% at a sale in January.